! 341 ' 

8 

? 



■A?" 



ONION RAISING; 



WHAT KINDS TO RAISE, 



THE WAY TO RAISE THEM. 



JAMES J. H. GREGORY, 

^EED GROWER, ^JLA-RBLEIIEAD, MASS. 









B S T X : 

A. WILLIAMS & COMPANY, 

100 Washington Street. 
1865 . 



®rje Country CBJwttemcm: 

A WEEKLY JOURNAL FOR 

THE FARM, THE GARDEN AND THE FIRESIDE, 

— «.<«►.»— 

LUTHER TUCKER & SON, Editors and Proprietors, Albany, N.Y. 



rB^lie Country Gentleman was selected as an appropriate title for a Journal in- 
M. tended to promote anil represent the Improved Agriculture of the whole country, in the 
widest acceptation of the term. The leading object with its conductors, since its first establish- 
ment in 1853, has therefore been to render it a fitting successor of the old Genesee Farmer, 
established by the senior proprietor Twenty-Two Years before, and of The Cultivator as edited 
by BtJEL, and subsequently by himself — with this only difference, that it should ever be found 
fully up to the Progressive Character and Higher Standard of the Present Day — leading the way 
to Advancement, wherever advancement is practicable, and presenting always an Accurate and 
Complete Record of the most Successful and Profitable Systems of Farming which Practice 
evolves or which Science may suggest. In this design the following Departments are included, 
to all of which there is more or less space devoted in every Volume, and in nearly every Num- 
ber : 

Progress op Agriculture — Sales and 
Shows : New Implements and Invention's. 

Rural Architecture — Domestic Econo- 
my— Entomology — Bot A NY. 

The Fireside — Travels ; Natural History ; 
Home Embellishments and Comfort. 

Record op tiie Times — State of the Crops : 
News at Home and Abroad. 

Farm Product Markets — Albany, New 



1. Practical Field Husbandry — all the Crops 

and Processes of Improved Farming. 

2. Domestic Animals — Breeds, Diseases, Fat- 
tening and Management. 

3. The Dairy — Butter and Cheese — the Poul- 

try Yard and the Apiary. 

4. Horticulture — Fruits and Fruit Trees : 
Landscape Gardening ; Arboriculture. 

5. Kitchen and Flower Gardening — all Edi-| 

ble and Ornamental Plants. ' York and Boston Prices. 

Subscription Price, in Advance, $2.50 Per Year. 

EECENT NOTICES FROM OUR CONTEMPORARIES. 

The Country Gentleman. — " Conducted Press of the country. We know of no Journal 
with a degree of talent that Americans areihaving so large a number of able practical cor- 
proud of. In this respect it is equal to any respondents" — Maine Farmer. 
European Journal, and superior to most of " The best of all the American newspapers 
them."— Gardener's Monthly. devoted to matters of Rural Economy."— Scot- 

" Standing at the head of the Agricultural |oish Farmer, Edinburgh, Scotland. 




The Cultivator, established in 1S34, is still published, and being now made up from the col- 
umns of the Country Gentleman, it is afforded at the very low price of Eighty Cents 
per Year— all subscriptions begining with the January Number. 

The attention of all who do not wish a Weekly! and most Practical of the Monthly Per 
Agricultural Journal, should be called to the! cals. Clubbed with the ANNual Registe r 
Cultivator, which is at once the Cheapest! very favorable terms. 



THE ILLUSTRATED ANNUAL REGISTER 

OF RURAL AFFAIRS. 



This Annual has now become one of the standard publications of the day, and for the 
beauty and profusion of its illustrations, and the interest and value of its contents, rela- 
ting to Country Homes, Country Labors, and Country Luxuries — to all the various branches 
of Agricultural and Horticultural Practice, it is without an equal in our Rural Literature. 

The Publishers of th i Annual Reister arejplements and Seeds, or any others who may take 
prepared to offer the most liberal terms for its an interest in the dissemination uf Useful Read- 
introduction in quantities, either to Agents, Ag-ing and in the Promotion of Rural Imp'rove- 
ricultural Societies, Nurserymen, Dealers in im-|ment. Single copies, 30 Cents. 
O" All letters should be addressed to 

LUTHER TUCKER & SON, Albany, N. Y. 



ONION RAISING; 



WHAT KINDS TO RAISE, 



THE WAY TO RAISE THEM 



JAMES J. H. GREGORY, 

SEED GROWER, MARBLEHEAD, MASS. 



/ 



BOSTON: 

A. WILLIAMS & COMPANY, 

100 Washington Street. 
1865. 



Note. After the first edition had heen printed I found that the title 
of the treatise was so similar to one already published, on the same sub- 
ject, that the two were likely to be confounded with each other. I have 
therefore altered somewhat the title ; that of the first edition having 
been " Onions, and how to raise them.'' 

JAMES J. II. GREGORY. 3 

Marblehead, April, 1865. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by 
JAMES J. H. GREGORY, 
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court, of the District of Massachusetts. 



Printed at the Salem Observer Office, ) 
226J Essex Street, Salem. 3 






&\ 



't 



Q* 



ONION RAISING. 



WHY I WRITE THIS TREATISE. 

In common with my fellow-seedsmen I frequently receive 
letters from my farmer friends, in different parts of the United 
States, asking for information on Onion Raising. It is impos- 
sible in a letter sheet to give sufficient minuteness of detail; I 
therefore send out this little treatise, in which I have endeavored 
to cover very minutely the whole ground of inquiry. I trust 
that it will prove acceptable. 

SELECTING THE SOIL. 

Onions are an exception to the general rule, — they thrive best 
on old ground, with the exception of an increased liability to 
injure from rust. I recently examined an acre of land which 
had been planted continuously with onions for three generations, 
without perceptible decrease in the quantity or quality of the 
crop. 

Onions are sometimes successfully raised by ploughing up old 
pasture land in September, thoroughly harrowing it before frost 
sets in, and in the Spring working in fine manure very thor- 
oughly with the harrow and cultivator. The result of such 
planting is to get a crop very free from weeds, the great pest of 
the onion cultivator. 

Onions can be raised on a variety of soils, but yield the most 
satisfactory returns on a sandy loam, a gravelly soil, or, to state 
a general rule, on those soils which are light in structure. 
As onions are brought on the heavier soils, the first effect will be 
a deterioration in their appearance, the outer skin of the yellow 
varieties losing its fine, clear, translucent yellow, and becoming 
thicker, duller and less attractive in appearance. If planted on 



a wet, or very heavy soil, the crop will mature late, if it ma- 
tures at all, giving a large proportion, of that dread of the onion 
farmer, scallions, or " scullions " as they term them, meaning 
those whose growth runs mostly to the neck, forming little or no 
bulb or bottom. With plenty of manure, onions will thrive 
well on soil that is very gravelly. I have seen very large 
crops grown on Marblehead Neck, on land so stony, that, after 
a rain, on an area of many square yards, not a particle of soil 
could be seen, nothing but small angular fragments of porphyry, 
with thrifty onions springing as it were out of the very rocks. 
Let it be understood, however, that this soil was not of a leachy 
nature, but rested on a hard-pan bottom. The area of land se- 
lected should be free of all large stones, as such interfere seriously 
with the straitness of the rows, the planting, hoeing and general 
cultivation of so small sized a product. Ultimately good culti- 
vators clear their onion grounds of large loose rocks by blasting 
or sinking them ; obviously the sooner this is done the larger 
are the returns received from such judicious investments. The 
land should be laid out in as nearly a square as practicable, as 
this facilitates estimates of manure, seed, and crops, gives greater 
regularity to the work, and economizes in the cultivation of a 
crop which requires a great deal of passing over. To protect 
the crop from the washing of heavy showers, the land should be 
level or very nearly so, otherwise a rush of water will bare the 
roots of some, and heap the earth around the necks of others to 
the injury of each. 

PREPARING THE SOIL. 
Don't plant a weedy soil to onions, or land which abounds 
in witch, or Couch grass ; if you do you will repent it on your 
hands and knees all summer long, for such soil will usually re- 
quire two more weedings than that on which weeds have not 
been allowed to ripen their seed. To have to keep down witch 
grass with your fingers in an onion bed is a miserable business, 
tearing up the onions and your patience at the same time ; 
better delay a year and meanwhile clear the land thoroughly by 
a diligent use of the cultivator and hoe, finishing in the Fall, 



by throwing the land into ridges that the freezings and thawings 
of AVinter may act destructively on the roots of the witch 
grass. Should any scattered shoot of this grass show itself in 
the Spring, let the roots be carefully removed with a fork or 
spade before the land is ploughed. 

In the Eastern States it is found, as a general rule, that 
success with the first crop of onions is affected by the crop 
which grew in the land the previous year, and that onions will 
follow carrots better than any other crop ; next to carrots, corn 
and potatoes are ranked as good preparers of the ground, while 
to succeed well with onions where cabbage has been raised the 
previous year is comparatively rare. Were there no other 
reason, the clean tilth which carrots insure, makes it an excel- 
lent crop to precede onions. In the fertile lands of the West, 
the method of procedure is briefly this : Land on which grows 
the bush Hazel is selected, if accessible, the bushes cut down 
and the turf surface but little more than pared in Spring with 
the plough. In this condition it is usually allowed to icmain a 
season, exposed to the drying effects of the sun, when it is most 
thoroughly harrowed and raked, and all the numerous roots and 
waste is burnt, the land ploughed to a moderate depth, and the 
seed is sown either broadcast or in drills. Should the early 
part of the season prove very wet, the crop sowed broadcast is 
at times smothered under a rapid growth of weeds, while with 
a favoring season as high as 800 bushels to the acre are harvested. 

After the harvesting of the crop which is to precede onions, let 
the land have a Fall ploughing, and be thrown up into ridges 
which will not only help destroy noxious weeds and witch grass 
as above stated, but will leave the land light, in a condition to be 
worked successfully early in the Spring, a great desideratum for 
a crop that at times requires the entire season to fully mature it. 

THE MANURE. 

Onions require the very best of manure, in the most tempt- 
ing condition, and plenty of it at that. Guano, Pig manure, 
Barn Manure, Night Soil, Kelp, Muscle Mud, Superphosphate 
of Lime, Wood Ashes and Muck are, either alone or in compost, 



all excellent food for the onion. Old ground, to maintain it in 
first rate condition should receive from six to eight cords of 
manure to the acre, while new onion ground to get it in first 
rate condition should receive from eight to ten cords of manure. 
When Peruvian Guano was held at about sixty dollars per ton, 
no purchased manure was found to pay as well as this, provided 
two applications were made, one application of about 500 lbs. 
to the acre, to be raked in at the time of planting, and the 
other of a like amount to be applied broadcast, when the 
onions were about half grown. Those who used but one appli- 
cation at the time of sowing w T ere apt to see surprising effects 
in a fine growth up to the period of half maturity of the crop, 
and an equally surprising effect in but little growth from this 
time through to the remainder of the season. Those who 
have used Uuano freely on their onion lands in the vicinity of 
Philadelphia, assert that one singular result is, that after ap- 
plying it for three years in succession, the seed onions for the 
most part fail to sprout, in such soil, and, when seed is planted 
it makes but little growth after vetretatino-. As far as I have 
observed Superphosphate of Lime used as a manure for a 
series of years is apt to give the first of these results. Pig 
manure is held in high esteem by many successful growers of 
onions in southern New England. 

In the vicinity of large towns where night-soil can be readily 
obtained, no more efficient manure can hi applied than a com- 
pound of this with muck that has been exposed to a winter's 
frost, or good loam, in the proportion of three parts muck or 
loam, to one part night-soil. If with this compost barn manure 
and sea-manure is mixed, so much the better ; for it is a rule 
for this as for other crops, that a combination of manures in an 
arithmetical ratio, will produce results nearly approaching a 
geometrical ratio. To make a compost of loam or muck and 
night-sod, select a spot very near the piece to be planted, and 
cover the ground with either to the depth of a foot or eighteen 
inches; then raise a bank of the same material surrounding this 
floor to the height of three or four feet, with a thickness of 
from four to six feet. The carts containing night-soil are 



backed up against this receptacle, and the door being unscrewed 
the contents shoot out. If barn manure is used it usually forms 
part of the sides of the receptacle. During the winter the frosts 
act on the heap to the further sweeting and disintegrating of it, 
and towards Spring the mass is pitched most thoroughly over, 
being mixed and made as fine as possible — sand when obtainable 
having been either previously or being subsequently liberally 
mixed with it, which so "cuts," or separates it that it remains 
light and fine. After an interval of about a fortnight, allowing 
time for fermentation, the heap is again pitched over for fining 
and mixing, and occasionally, three mixing are made. It 
would be well for tourists to elide the onion districts at this 
season of the year, as a little experience will amply satisfy 
them. 

These composts should be made on the ground where the 
onions are to be planted, for neither onions or any other crop 
will grow on such spots the same season. 

When Superphosphate of Lime is used it is best to make two 
applications, as with Guano. The results of the use of Super- 
phosphates are not always satisfactory, but I have seen eight 
hundred pounds applied to the acre produce as good results as 
that from seven cords of rich compost applied side by side. 

Muscle mud obtained from the sea coast is rarely used alone, 
though large crops are sometimes raised on old onion ground 
by the application of this alone, at the rate of eight cords to 
the acre. It appears to give the best results a few miles inland. 
The strength and consequent value of this manure varies con- 
siderably ; and here let me add, that the value of all animal 
manures will be found to vary greatly ; other things being equal, 
the higher feeding the animal receives, the better the manure. 

Wood ashes is general used in connection with other ma- 
nures at the rate of about 200 bushels to the acre. Wood 
ashes should never be combined with other manures, as it will 
let the Ammonia free, and thus deteriorates their quality. Use 
ashes either by scattering it on the surface at the time of plant- 
ing, or when the crop is about half grown. 
In the vicinity of large towns, of all manures obtained out- 



8 

side the barnyard, nightsoil is the cheapest. The first farmer 
who used it in this locality, comparatively but a few years ago, 
was universally jeered at by his comrades, but now nearly all 
of our annual crop of 50,000 bushels is fed principally on this 
manure. 

The effect of Kelp, (by this I mean the sea manure which is 
thrown up by the storms on very bold shores,) when used as 
the principal manure, is to give a coarse onion, and a very late 
crop ; so late as oftentimes to be in quite a green state at the 
close of the season, requiring extra labor and care to get it in 
market condition. In seasons of great drought, however, Kelp 
serves an excellent end, in so retarding the crop that it is not 
prematurely ripened. In the excessively dry season of 1864, 
crops along the sea coast manured with Kelp in many in- 
stances yielded double those manured by barnyard and other 
manures. 

The manure is managed most conveniently by dropping it on 
the land in quite small heaps, at regular intervals, at convenient 
distance for spreading. I close this paragraph on manures, hy 
emphasizing the utility of a thorough fining of it. 

PLOWING. 

The firmer who brings up the sub-soil on his onion bed. will 
find he has made a mistake. Onions do not require deep plow- 
ing; four or five inches is sufficient depth to insure a good crop. 
One of the finest pieces I saw last season was managed by 
carting on the manure in the Fall, and simply giving it a thor- 
ough working into the soil with an ordinary one-horse cultivator, 
in the Spring, after which the land was raked and planted, no 
plow, or any implement other than the cultivator having been 
used. In this instance the soil was naturally quite light. In 
the West, the ground having been plowed in the Fall, it frequent- 
ly receives only a cultivating or harrowing in the Spring. 

As the great object is to get the land in a thoroughly 
fine condition, to facilitate the covering of the seed with fine 
earth, to leave the soil light, that there may be a vigorous 
growth of the plants, and to leave the land in good working 



condition for after culture, no labor should be spared to 
attain this end. On most soils the ground should be plowed, 
cross-plowed, and thoroughly cultivated. If from the back- 
wardness of the Spring, and the consequent wet state of the 
land, the soil should still be at all lumpy, it should be 
thoroughly rolled before raking for planting, and it is well 
to brush-harrow it. As onions grown from the seed often- 
times require the whole season to ripen, the onion grower breaks 
ground first of all in his onion bed, springing to this as early in 
the season as possible to work the land into a light and fine 
condition. 

THE SEED. 

In some localities three pounds and a half of seed was 
thought sufficient to an acre ; afterward this was increased to 
four, then to four and a half, and now five and six pounds are 
sometimes planted. Land that is planted to onions the first 
time requires more seed than old land. If it is designed to 
pull the onions when small for bunching for the early market, 
then seven or eight lbs. of seed will be required for an acre. If 
the intent is to raise the very small onions known as "setts," 
which are stored over winter to be planted in the spring to 
produce early onions, then a much larger quantity will be 
required. Of course it is of the first importance that the seed 
should be reliable. 

Compared with the average return of this crop, the cost of 
good seed for planting an acre of land to onions, even at the 
present high prices, is not to be considered a moment beside the 
acceptance of doubtful seed even as a gift ; yet every onion- 
growing community has its stories to tell of cultivators who have 
thrown away their time, labor, and manure, by purchasing 
doubtful seed at a little lower figure than that at which reliable 
seed could be procured. Others have toiled through the 
labor of the season, but to find themselves rewarded by a crop 
of which scullions made a large proportion. I will detail more 
of this matter of securing good seed, when I come to treat of 
'• Seed Growing." 



10 

The usual test for good seed, that is, seed that will vegetate is, 
the sinking of it ; that which will sink being considered reliable 
and that which floats being considered worthless. This will 
answer as a general rule, but it is not wholly reliable. Seed 
that will sink will not always vegetate, while seed that will 
float, under some cicumstances, will vegetate. Any farmer 
who tests his seed by the sinking process, will find that much of 
that which floats will vegetate, while no farmer is safe in plant- 
ing seed that is two years old, though it will sink. Some 
farmers ascertained this latter fact to their great loss during the 
Spring of 1864. If the season is an average one, such seed as 
is two years old can be relied upon if it has weight sufficient 
to sink it, but such a season as the Spring of 1804, being 
unusually wet, much of the two years seed that was sown, 
though sown by farmers who had themselves raised it, failed 
to vegetate. 

The lesson to be learned by such unfortunate result, is, that 
it is never perfectly safe to sow seed that is two years old, and 
that the only way a prudent cultivator will use it will be when 
mixed with a large proportion of fresh seed. There are 
two special risks incidental to the sinking test; the first is the 
danger that it shall not be thoroughly dried, as onion seed when 
containing sufficent moisture to cause it to sprout when 
stored in bulk, appears dry to the eye; again, the vitality of 
onion seed is very apt to be hurt by the drying of it, particu- 
larly so as it is usually deferred until just previous to planting 
when matters are greatly hurried, as the risk of injury through 
this process is considered too great to permit it to be sunk earlier 
in the season, when it is likely to be exposed too near the kitch- 
ing stove. Seed thoroughly winnowed by the wind, on a large 
sheet spread on some open spot, free from all eddies, will be found 
to give a quality very nearly or quite as free from light seed as the 
sinking process. As the objection just presented does not lie 
against this process, it is decidedly preferable. The only 
reliable test lor the vitality of any variety of seed is that which 
includes all the usual conditions of growth. Testing by plant- 
ing in a hot house, or in a box in a common house, are not 



11 

fully reliable, because the seed are not surrounded by the 
conditions of natural growth — they then have a temperature 
very mild, and very nearly constant, — with no excess of mois- 
ture or dryness, whereas the natural condition of vegetation 
include the very varying temperature of early Spring, usually 
a great excess of moisture and a low degree of heat, all of 
which causes, either single or combined in their effects, draw 
largely on the vital power of the seed. Hence seed that under the 
favoring influences of the Hot-house or kitchen may vegetate 
may not have sufficient vitality to overcome the excessive cold or 
moisture of the garden. The result therefore of the usual 
experimental tests can be relied upon as giving only approxi- 
mation to the truth. 

Among these approximate tests, is, the simple one of partially 
filling a tumbler with cotton wool, pouring in a little water, 
not sufficient to cover the cotton then sprinkle a certain num- 
ber of seed on the cotton, covering it with a little additional 
cotton to keep the moisture in. Another simple test is to 
sprinkle the seed to be tested on a moist woolen cloth, fold the 
cloth together, and put it in a place moderately warm. The 
proportion of seed that is good will be known by the proportion 
that sprout. Experienced eyes can learn something by the ap- 
pearance and feel of the seed. Old seed require several days 
longer to vegetate than new seed. 

WHAT KIND OF ONIONS TO PLANT. 

Foreign catalogues describe a score and more varieties of 
onion which are raised in Europe, but as far as experiments 
have been made with them in this country, it has thus far been 
found that European grown onion seed cannot be relied upon 
to give as good bulbs as American grown seed of the same va- 
rieties; while many sorts are not adapted to our climate. A 
measure of the doubious quality of this foreign seed is well indi- 
cated by the lower price at which it is generally Catalogued. 

Of those grown from seed, the Large Red, Yellow, and 
White, are the three standard varieties in the United States. 

The Large Red is commonly known as the Weathersfield 
Onion, it having been extensively cultivated in that locality at 



12 




an early d;iy in Onion culture. This is commonly divided into 
four varieties, viz : 

Late Large Red, (see illustration) 
is a very large, thick, late Onion attaining 
a diameter of from three to six inches, 
and on the fertile prairies of the West, not 
un frequently eight inches. 
Early, which differs only in size and time of ripening; 
it being rather flatter than the large sort, not so large, and 
comes to maturity earlier. 

The First Early, is still flatter in form, smaller in size, 
rather light colored, and matures earliest of the three sorts; as 
early as the last of July. 

There is also a fine Globe variety of Early Red Onion, 
(see illustration) in cultivation, which comes 
to maturity from a week to a fortnight ear- 
lier than the Danvers Early, is of good size 
and flavor, and in color usually of a very 
bright, handsome red. The seed of this va- 
riety is much sought after by Onion growers, 
but is difficult to procure in a pure state. 

The very Early Red varieties are not considered as good 
keepers as the later sorts, but with proper care I find but little 
difference in their keeping properties. 

There are four varieties of the Yellow Onion in culti- 
vation, of which the Yellow Flat, called also Yellow Dutch, 
and Strasburgh, and in the Eastern States the "Silver Skin," 
is the parent. Tnese varieties are the Common Flat Onion, 
the Early Cracker Onion, the Danvers Onion, and the Interme- 
diate Onion. 

The Common Flat, (incorrectly called Silver Skin in the 
Eastern States, a name which properly belongs to the White 
Portugal,) is not so generally cultivated since the Early Dan- 
vers was introduced, as formerly. It grows to a diameter of 
about three inches, is compact in its structure and of good flavor. 
It is a good keeper. 





i:; 

The Early Cracker Onion, (see illus- 
tration) is very thin, of a beautiful honey col- 
or, quite compact, and oftentimes hollows a 
little in the bulb around the neck. Matures 
about a week or ten days earlier than the Early 
Danvers, and in fineness of structure and delicacy of flavor is 
unsurpassed. 

The great practical objection to the cultivation of this Onion 
on an extensive scale, is the extreme care required in handling 
it ; — it needs as much care to prevent bruising and consequent 
rotting as an apple. For using in the Fall, this objection would 
not lie against it with any great force; and when cultivated for 
family use greater care might be bestowed upon it than the 
field crop usually receives. It grows to an average diameter of 
two and a ha'f inches. 

The Early Round Danvers Yellow Onion, was origi- 
nated by Mr. Daniel Buxton and brother of South Danvers, 
by careful selections of the roundest and earliest specimens 
from the Yellow Flat Onion. The Danvers is an early onion, 
maturing within about a Aveek or ten days of the Early 
Red and Cracker Onions. It is very prolific, and like the 
Red Globe Onion, gives larger crops by about one-third than 
the flat varieties. When each are seen just before pulling, 
the difference in the bulk of the crop h not very apparent, 
but when measured, the globular form of the Danvers " tells.'' 
When overgrown by too thin planting of seed this onion 
is at times rather coarse in structure, but ordinarily it is 
very compact, fine of structure, heavy, and a good keeper. 
When well ripened I find it keeps equally well under the 
same circumstances, as the Common Flat Onion. The ear- 
liness of the Danvers Onion is a great gain in short sea- 
sons, or very wet ones; and as this onion begins to form its 
bulb quite early in its growth, (" bottom's down," is the farm- 
er's phrase,) it presents marked advantages over the flat sorts 
for early marketing. At the present time in Boston market 
the Danvers sells for somewhat more a barrel than the Red. 




14 

Among experienced growers, and among 
such only are nice distinctions made, the 
"Dave Warren" variety of the Early 
Round Danvers, (see illustration) is consid- 
ered to be a very desirable sort. This is 
generally quite flat on the bottom, with the 
average shape as given in the engraving. 
Having had considerable experience in selecting onions for seed 
purposes, I find that I can obtain a greater proportion of hand- 
some, well developed seed onions from this variety than from 
any other. A person who has not had experience in this would 
be surprised to find what a difference there is between lots of 
onions, each of which would be called good onions ; from a 
quantity of the one not a peck of finely developed seed onions 
could be picked, while from an equal quantity of the other 
lot a barrel might be selected. 

INTERMEDIATE ONION. 

The intermediate onion is a variety half way between the 
common flat and the Danvers Onions— it being flatter than the 
Danvers, and thicker than the common flat. It probably origi- 
nated from the efforts of growers some years since, to produce 
an onion that should be more oblong, more egg shaped than the 
Danvers; that they might add still more bulk to their crops. 
The result of such a wide departure from the normal form, 
during a very wet season was to make quite a proportion of the 
crop scullions ; upon this they went some what to the other ex- 
treme and produced the Intermediate Onion, though no variety is 
more free from scallions than the true Danvers, as I have seen 
acres of them, on which not a peck of scallions could be found, the 
entire yield being well matured, of fine size and finely shaped. 

The Intermediate Onion is about as early as the Danvers, 
grows very symmetrical, is very compact and handsome, crops 
well and keeps well. A casual observer would notice but very 
little difference between this and the true Danvers. 

WHITE PORTUGAL. 

The cultivation of this early onion is mostly confined to the* 



15 

raising and planting of what are known as ' setts ' or button 
onions, or onions for early family use, as it is a very poor 
keeper. It is a sweet, mild onion, of a good size for family 
use. though averaging considerably smaller than the varieties 
that have been described. Here let me say, that for family use, 
except for frying, the common onions of the market are 
much too large to be economical — the two outer layers of an 
onion three inches in diameter and upwards, though making 
up about half the bulk of the onion, are usually coarse and 
tough, and slough off when boiled. The sweetest, tendcrest 
and most economical onion for this purpose of the yellow sort, 
are those that are from one to two inches in diameter. 

There is usually the distinctions I have here stated between 
the late and early varieties, but sometimes drought and other 
causer will almost destroy these distinctions, ripening the very 
earl and medium early sorts at the same time. 

WHAT ONION SHALL I RAISE? 

■ Having described the standard varieties a beginner may query 
in his mind as to what variety would be most profitable and 
most reliable lor him to cultivate. 

The Danvers Onion is the handsomest shaped, yields as much 
as any other sort, and more than any of the flat varieties per 
acre. Three years since, in the town of Marblehead, over 900 
bushels were raised on one acre of land. It is an onion very 
popular in the eastern market, and in eastern Massachusetts is 
raised to almost the exclusion of any other variety. The Large 
Red Onion is quite a favorite in the West, and is considered by 
some dealers to be the best variety for shipping purposes, though 
the Danvers is also shipped largely. Those who live in the 
latitude where the onion is difficult to mature from the seed in 
one year, affirm that the red onion will mature farther South 
than any other variety. 

After all, whatever suggestions may be offered, the local de- 
mand will do most for settling this point. Aside from this. I 
would recommend the Danvers as, on the whole, the most de- 
sirable sort 



10 

ONION SETTS ; OR BUTTON ONION. 

In that portion of the United States south of the vicinity of 
New York city, onions cannot be relied on to manure the first 
year from the seed, owing to the extreme heat of the climate 
forcing the formation of the bulb and drying down of the top 
quite early in the season. It becomes necessary, therefore, in 
these latitudes to devote two years to the maturing of the crop. 
The first year the ground having been prepared as already direct- 
ed, though not usually manured quite so liberally, broad, shallow 
drills, from one to two inches in width, are made about 10 inches 
apart and these are sown early in spring, very thickly, (the seed 
nearly covering the ground.) and the crop becomes mature in 
July, when it is pulled and stored in cool, airy lofts, being 
spread very thinly over the floor — those raised from the white 
Portugal onion to a depth of about two inches and those from 
the yellow sorts to a depth of about four inches. A gentle 
raking occasionally is of advantage to promote dryness and to 
prevent sprouting. The yellow variety is the best for keeping, 
and hence will bear the confinement incident to transportation 
with less injury, but the clean white appearance of the onion 
raised from the white setts, give them the preference in the 
market. Attempts are often made in the north by market- 
gardeners to raise their own setts and thus save the large outlay 
often required to purchase them, — for most of the early onions 
now used in the northern cities are raised from the setts. The 
attempts to raise them in the north are mostly a failure, for the 
reason that the true sett is an onion that has heen checked in its 
annual growth and dryed down before it has matured it — hence 
it has an additional growth to make before its annual growth 
is matured, and before this is matured there can be no seed 
shoot pushed, for the onion is a biennial plant and the seed 
shoot belongs to the second year of its growth. When 
northern gardeners go through the same form of cultivation as 
those of the south to raise onion setts, the onions grow of small 
size, but they are for the most part mature onions, notwithstand- 
ing, and have attained their yearly maturity, the smallness of 
size being attained by a crowded cultivation and not by a pre- 



IT 

mature formation of the bulb by excessive heat as in the south. 
The fact that so large a proportion of northern grown setts push 
out a seed shoot demonstrates this. 

I would suggest that a more scientific mode of procedure 
would be to plant the seed rather thicker than usual, and then 
soon after the bulb begins to show itself, thin out the super- 
fluous onions, dropping them] between the rows. Such 
onions though they may appear at times to be about all top, will 
dry down, if the season favors, and leave nice little setts for next 
Spring's use. 

Setts are planted in rows about twelve inches apart and two 
or three inches distant in the row. As the ground worms are 
very apt to remove them when first planted, the bed should 
be frequently examined. Some hold to dropping them in shal- 
low drills, not covering them at all with earth. 

Onion setts vary in size from that of a pea to a hazel nut. 
The smaller the size of the setts the greater the number of onions 
contained in a given quantity, but many find it for their inter- 
est to purchase setts of a good size, as they mature earlier and 
yield larger onions. The average yield in bulk is about fifty to 
one. Among the market gardeners in the vicinity of the large 
cities, onion setts are very extensively planted — some planting 
as high as 150 bushels annually. 

RARERIPES. 

Rareripes are onions raised by planting out bulbs of the 
growth of the previous season. The rareripe oftentimes differs 
from the onion sett only in being a matured onion, as frequently 
they are about as small as the setts. The method of raising 
them is the same as with the setts, with the difference of plant- 
ing them at times at greater distance apart in the row, propor- 
tionate with their greater size. The raising of rareripes is a 
very profitable way of disposing of such onions as are badly 
sprouted, are very small, or in any way unprofitable for mar- 
keting. A seed shoot may be uniformly expected from each 
onion, but as this greatly deteriorates the quality of the rare- 
ripe, making it tough and woody in structure, it should always 
2 



18 




be cut off. If cut off before the swelled growth appears, (a 
striking characteristic of the onion family and a proof of the 
skill of the Divine Architect, in strengthening by so simple a 
process the tall, thin stalk designed to support the heavy seed 
head,) it will again shoot up : wait therefore, until this swelling 
begins to show itself and then cut below it, and no more trouble 
from this source will ensue. The smaller the onions planted as 
rareripes the more handsome will be the crop ; the very small 
ones producing each one handsome round onion, while the large 
ones produce two or more which are irregular in size. 

POTATO ONIONS, TOP ONIONS, AND SHALLOTS. 

Potato Onions, (see engraving,) Top 
Onions, and Shallots are thought by 
some to have originated from the com- 
mon onion. It is certain that at times 
all three of these varieties are sported 
by the common onion. In a large field 
of seed onions, occasionally small onions 
will be found, growing in place of seed, and these onions when 
set out the ensuing Spring will vegetate and develop readily, 
but whether they will in turn yield the like, i. e., Top Onions, 
I need another season to determine. 

Potato Onions, or multiplying onions, are a thick, hard flesh- 
ed variety, very mild and pleasant to the taste, and very poor keep- 
ers, unless spread very thinly in some dry apartment. They are 
propagated by planting the bulbs in drills, fourteen inches apart, 
the larger ones four to six inches apart in the row, and the 
smaller ones two inches. The small ones rapidly increase and 
make onions from two to three inches in diameter, while 
the larger ones divide and make from four to a dozen or even 
sixteen (usually from five to eight) small, irregularly shaped 
onions. It will be seen that the larger bulbs answer the 
same purpose as the seed in the common onion ; hence to 
have onions both for sale and yet maintain the stock, it is nec- 
essary that both sizes should be planted. 

The Potato onion should be indulged for its best development 
in a soil rather moister than the varieties from seed. The ad- 
vantage of the Potato onion is its earliness, and the fact that it 
is not as liable to injury from the onion maggot, when that 
abounds, as the common sorts. I have seen an instance 
where on half an acre of each growing side by side, the common 
onion (that raised from seed) was almost wholly destroyed, 
while the Potato Onion was nearly uninjured. 



19 



Shallots differ from Potato Onions principally in their 
characteristic of always multiplying; a shallot never grows 
into a large round onion ; but always multiplies itself, forming 
bulbs that average more oblong and are usually smaller than 
those of the Potato onion. I find them occasionally pushing 
a seed shoot, which I have never seen in the Potato Onion. 
Their habit of growth is finer, making a longer and more slen- 
der leaf than the Potato Onion. They are mild of flavor and 
greatly excel every other variety of the onion family in their 
keeping properties ; with little care they may be kept the year 
round. All seedsmen do not know the difference between the 
Potato Onion and the Shallot. Within a few years I have 
twice had shallots sent me under the name " Potato Onion." 

Top Onions are propagated from little bulbs which grow in 
this variety where the seeds grow in the common sorts. They 
grow to a large size, are pleasant, mild flavored, rather coarsely 
and loosely made up, and have the reputation of being poor 
keepers. Raised like the Potato Onion. 

SEED SOWING MACHINES. 

There are a variety of machines in the market for sowing 
onion and other seed, but most or all of them can be arranged 
under three classes, viz; : Brush Sowers, Snap Sowers, and 
Drop Sowers. 

Brush Machines, are those in which the seed is forced out by 
a brush contained in the seed box. The characteristic feature in 
this class of seed planters is of English origin and has passed 
through various modifications in this country. For the gen- 
eral purposes of seed sowing, the plan of forcing seed out 
by a brush is, doubtless, the most reliable. 

The Brush Machine, 
an engraving of which is 
here presented, makes the 
drills, drops the seed, cov- 
ers and rolls it ; it is 
adapted for planting all 
the common root crops. 

There is a larger variety of this machine, which, in addition 
to the smaller seed, sows Corn, Peas, Beans, &c. Eor the 
latter purpose a cylinder is inserted, which revolves perpen- 




20 



dicularly, and the machine is also so constructed that it may be 
easily graduated to drop the seed faster or slower, and make the 
distances between the hills or drills greater or less as may be 
desired. The following engraving represents this machine. 




The rows in this machine are marked out by a chain, two of 
which hang near the handles and drag on the ground, being 
used alternately. The wheel is pushed along the mark made by 
the chain. 

The principle on which the "Snap" Machine is founded, is 
the securing the flow of seed through the aperture by a jerking 
motion, which is usually effected by a spring which makes a 
snapping noise when set free. 

Of the machines built on this principle the one most common- 
ly used in Eastern Massachusetts is known as the Danvers 

Onion 
Sower. 
The struc- 
ture of this 
is exceed- 
ingly sim- 
ple, and as 

it involves but few parts, and hence is but little liable to get 
out of order, and when out of order can readily be repaired by 
any blacksmith, it is quite a favorite with onion raisers. This 
machine is also used to sow carrot and sage seed. 

The Danvers Machine opens the furrows, drops the seed, 
covers it, but does not roll it. Farmers usually attach an old 
horse shoe to the end of the seed coverer, which gives sufficient 
weight to make it answer the purposes of a roller. 

In these machines the seed falls through holes in little 
slides of tin, different slides being substituted as the seed to be 







21 



sown is larger or smaller, or the quantity to be planted is 
greater or less. Farmers will often find it for their interest to 
enlarge or diminish the size of these holes. The holes in the 
tin of the Dan vers Sower, to give a liberal sowing of about 
4 1-2 lbs. to the acre, should be large enough to drop ten or 
twelve onion seed to each snap. By putting the hand under 
and counting the seed which falls in a dozen snappings of the ma- 
chine a reliable average can easily be ascertained. As the size 
of onion seed often varies no particular size of hole can be relied 
upon ; it must be tested for each season. Another convenient 
test is to trundle the machine over the barn floor, or a newspaper- 
spread and secured in the field, and observe how thickly the 
seed fall. For a beginner the first test is the better one. 

A variety of Snap 
Machine recently intro- 
duced into the market, 
known as the Harring- 
ton Machine, (see en- 
graving,) is giving much 
satisfaction. Instead of 
the usual set of tins, it 
has a disc perforated 
with holes, of sizes suited 
for various seed, around 
its circumference, and this disc revolves horizontally on its cen- 
ter under the seed box, the aperture suited to the seed to be 
sown being thus readily presented. It is intended for sowing 
all ordinary garden produce, including Corn and Beans. It is 
simple in structure, light and comely in appearance, and is 
easily moved over the ground. It has given great satisfaction, 
not only in the sowing of Onion seed, but in the sowing of Beet, 
Parsnip and Turnip seed; seeds usually very difficult to sow 
evenly. The peculiar principle of the seed dropper is that of 
forcing the point of a lancet shaped agitator, edgewise, back and 

forth through the seed, 
and directly over the ori- 
fice through which the 
seed are sown, thus keep- 
ing the orifice always 
free. Connected with 
this Machine is a Cul- 
tivator, (see engrav- 
ing,) which is readily 
removed when the machine is to be used for planting. In 





22 



most soils the Cultivator works admirably as a hoer and weeder. 
It has five teeth so arranged as to cut the surface all over, at 
whatever width the machine is set, cutting up the weeds and 
pulverizing the soil in the best manner. 

Of the Sower which drops the seed in hills, I will treat pres- 
ently, under the head of " Onions with Carrots." 

PLANTING THE SEED. 

Having selected our seed sower and regulated it, the next 
step is to plant the seed. It is exceedingly necessary that the 
first row planted should be straight, as this becomes a measure 
for straightening all the others. A steady hand and a straight 
eye are of great value here, but with a little practice a good 
degree of accuracy can be obtained by most persons, though a 
few will always find it for their profit to hire some experienced 
hand. Two or three sticks may serve to mark out the first row, 
and by keeping these bearing on each other as the machine 
is pushed along, the first line must be a straight line. In 
some machines the chains which drag from the handle, and in 

'others the wheels, 
serve to mark out 
the rows. As the 




Scuffle Hoes 
(see engraving) and 
Wheel Hoes (see engraving) to be used will be of a constant 

width, it is impor- 
tant that the width 
of the rows should 
be kept constant, 
particularly that 
they should not be 
brought nearer to- 
gether than the dis- 
tance fixed upon. 
The distance be- 
tween the rows varies in different sections from twelve to four- 
teen inches ; when seed are planted for setts ten inches is the 
usual distance between the drills. 

The various hoes used in weeding are pushed before the oper- 
ator and again drawn quickly back, the operator taking short 
steps and making the hoe cut in both the forward and backward 
slides. Farmers sometimes make their own scuffle hoes out of 





23 

a piece of an old saw, 
the teeth answering a 
good purpose in cutting 
off the weeds. The V 
shaped hoe, called How- 
ard's Patent, (see en- 
graving,) will do excel- 
lent service if a weight of about two lbs. be fastened around 
the handle near the ground. 

In Eastern Massachusetts fourteen inches is the usual dis- 
tance ; while in southern New England and parts of the West, 
twelve inches is preferred. 

Before planting the seed it should be carefully examined, to 
see that it is perfectly clean from small stones or any substance 
that can possibly clog the hole of exit. Let it be remembered 
when regulating the snap machine, that the seed will not be 
likely to fall so fast from a full hopper as they will when it is 
nearly empty. The seed should be sown from half an inch to 
large inch under the surface. The lighter the soil the deeper 
the seed may be sown. It is thought that deep sowing has the 
advantage of getting the plants so deeply rooted that they will 
bear having the earth slightly pulled away from them in the first 
weeding, without so much injury as sometimes results when they 
are planted shallow. While planting, as well as when using the 
hoe, our farmers will find the advantage of having a finely pul- 
verized surface to work on, free of all clods, sticks and stones — 
as such will continually vary the straightness of the rows, in- 
terfere with the planting and covering of the seed, and, when 
the hoe is used, glance it out of its course in among the tender 
plants. 

HOEING AND WEEDING. 

In frt)m two to three weeks, if the weather is an average for the 
season, the young plants by a close examination may be seen 
pushing their green arches above the surface, bearing a close 
resemblance to a curve of grass. As soon as sufficiently up 
to enable a sharp eye to determine the course of the rows, with- 
out delaying a day or an hour, if the weather permits, the 
prudent cultivator will slide through his scuffle hoe, as at this 
season of the year the weather is very uncertain, and the 
land may become too wet to be worked soon after the young 
plants appear, and yet not too wet to hinder a rapid growth of 
weeds. On so rich a seed bed, prompt action is very necessary, or 
a miserably discouraging tangle will soon be the result of negli- 



24 

gence. In their comparative freedom from weeds the cultivators 
in the West, on their new land, have a great advantage over 
their brethren in the East. In about a week after the hoe has 
passed through them, the young plants will need their first 
weeding with the fingers. This is hand and knee work, and 
pursued as it has to be in this position at intervals throughout 
the heat of summer, is to many the most wearying work of the 
farm. 

To protect the knees from sharp stones, ''pads" are used, which 
consist of squares of about eight inches, of several thicknesses of 
woollen usually covered with leather, which are strapped to the 
knees. In ordinary seasons onions require three or four hand-and- 
knee weedings, and from four to six slidings with the hoe. A 
man's judgment must be his guide. Land newly cultivated to 
onions will require more frequent weeding than old land that has 
been well taken care of. As onions shade the ground but slightly, 
weeds grow rapidly in onions beds, and if they are once allowed 
to get the start the labor of cultivation is immensely increased. 
Some cultivators practise scratching the soil away from the 
onions when weeding, with an old knife curved at right angle 
near the point, or by a piece of iron hoop curved, the end be- 
ing nailed to a small piece of wood conveniently held in the 
hand. Others practise throwing the soil slightly around the 
young onions with a scuffle hoe made with reference to this 
use, with a view of smothering the small weeds. When the 
onions have begun to "bottom down" i. e. form their bulbs, it 
is the general practice to remove as far as practicable any surplus 
earth that has accumulated around them. In weeding two or 
three rows are usually taken together, the weeds being dropped 
between the rows. Just before the crop ripens down, larger 
weeds will show themselves here and there over the beds ; these 
are generally gathered in baskets and dropped at the ends of the 
rows. If the seed of such weeds get ripe before they are 
pulled, the weeds should be carefully deposited in a pile in some 
by-place where they can be burned when dry. Growers who 
practise throwing such weeds to their hogs because they are 
large and succulent, make an annual seeding of their beds with 
weeds. Particularly is this true of Pursley, one of the greatest 
plagues in the heat of the season. The habit of this plant is to rip- 
en the seed, which grows well down on the stalk, while the main 
body of the plant is in its full vigor ; hence it usually happen that 
much seed drops into the land some time before it is pulled, while 
the farmer never mistrusts it has ripened. I have seen Pursley 
completely eradicated from garden plots where it formerly was a 



25 

pest, by a little care in this matter of letting it go to seed. The 
same remarks apply to the "weed known as Chick-weed. When 
blank spots occur from poor seed, poor planting or the ravages 
of the onion maggot, bush beans, cabbages or tomatoes may be 
planted. 

When the plants are too thick they should be thinned ; but the 
beginner had better pull with a sparing hand, for if the ground 
has been manured very liberally, the crop will do well when the 
plants are very thickly together, and will oftentimes grow as 
large when very thick as they will with three times the room. 
Onion growers like to see their onions piled two or three deep as 
they grow, the upper layer being entirely out of the ground 
with the exception of the roots. When the tops begin to fall 
over, the onion is rapidly maturing and the bulbs will now grow 
very fast. Farmers will tell you that "the top is growing 
down into the bottom." The flat onions begin to bottom late in 
the season, while the Danvers makes a very encouraging show 
of bulb quite early. Should the land have been but poorly ma- 
nured in seasons of drought the crop will be apt to be ripened 
prematurely, forming a small sized onion, while those, divided it 
may be by merely a wall, that have been more liberally manured 
stand the drought and keep green sufficiently long to receive 
advantage of the later rains ; an investment of twenty dollars in 
manure thus making a difference sometimes of two hundred dol- 
lars in the crop. If the crop is quite backward, late in the 
season the necks of the onions are sometimes bent over to hasten 
the formation of the bulb. This is done by hand, or by rolling 
a barrel over two rows at a time. 

STORING THE CROP. 

When the necks have fallen over and the great proportion of 
them are dry, the crop should be pulled by hand and be thrown 
in winrows, about three rows being thrown into one. At 
this time all weeds remaining should be pulled and piled pre- 
paratory to the final clearing of the bed. The pulling of the 
crop should not be delayed after the tops are well dry, for if 
rain should now fall the onions will be apt to re-root to their in- 
jury. Should the backwardness of the season make it necessary 
to pull the crop in rather a green state, it will be well to allow it 
to remain untouched after pulling for about a week, before turn- 
ing or stirring, which will tend to hasten the decay of the greener 
tops ; otherwise they should be carefully stirred every pleasant 
day with a wooden-toothed rake. See that they are not injured 
by the raking or treading of a careless hand. When the crop is 



26 

thoroughly dried, the onions feeling hard to the handling, it will 
be ready for topping for market. They are carefully collected 
in baskets, rejecting all stones, scallions and rotten onions, and 
taken in wagon loads to the barn and there the tops are cut oif 
clean to the onion with a sharp knife. This is usually done by 
boys or females at two or three cents by the bushel. While 
collecting look sharply on the bottom of the onions to detect 
rotten ones. Some growers prefer to leave such of the crop as 
they design to keep for a late market untopped. If it is in- 
tended to market the crop immediately the onions may be piled 
to a depth of three or four feet, otherwise they should not be 
be over two feet in depth. Leave the barn doors and win- 
dows all open every pleasant day. As the crop is topped, those 
of the size of a hazel nut and smaller are classed as pickle 
onions, these being marketed principally for that purpose, and 
usually bringing nearly as high a price as the full grown ones. 

TRACING, OR ROPING ONIONS. 

When the crop has ripened down but poorly the greener 
onions are oftentimes traced. This is done by cutting off the 
neck within about two inches of the bulb and binding it to a 
handful of straw ; beginning at the butt end of the straw, lay 
the neck against the straw, give two or three firm turns with 
the twine (net or wrapping twine), add another onion, and thus 
proceed till the straw is covered, the larger onions being tied 
to the bottom and gradually decreasing in size to the top. 
Onions so slowly ripened that they would soon spoil if stored in 
a mass will keep well when traced, and oftentimes bring a greater 
profit than the best of the crop. Rareripes, and such of the 
earlier onions as are to be sent long distances, or be kept awhile 
before marketing, are usually traced. Traced onions keep in 
good condition a long while in a dry, cool place. 

MARKETING THE CROP. 

The Sett Onions, Potato Onions, Top Onions and Rareripes for 
the most part, in some sections are sent to market in a green state 
in bunches. The Potato Onions are brought up from the South 
dry in large quantities to supply the northern markets, soon 
after the arrival of the Bermuda Onions, just before the ripening 
of the Northern crop. After the Potato Onions, follow the 
earliest variety of the Red, and immediately after, the Danvers, 
and, finally, the Large Red completes the season. The sales in 
northern markets early in the season are made mostly for the 



27 

supply of the local immediate demand, the great bulk of the 
crop not being sent in before the call for shipping purposes has 
commenced. For this reason, farmers find it to be for their 
interest to do but little more than feel the market until about 
the middle of October, as large purchases made previous to this 
period are mostly as an investment by speculators, with the ex- 
ception of such lots as go to supply the markets of large towns 
and cities of the extreme North beyond the limits of the onion 
growing region. 

The price of onions varies greatly ; they have sold as low as 
seventy-five cents a barrel, while the early crop of 18G4 sold as 
high as sixteen dollars per barrel, by the five hundred barrels. 
From September to March, in the same season, the fluctuation is 
sometimes between two dollars and six dollars. Crops have at 
times been sold to be delivered in the course of two months, 
and in that time have more than doubled in price. The 
general truth is, that those brought first and those brought latest 
to market, being kept till near Spring, bring the best prices. 
The great facilities afforded by onion raising, by the fertile soil 
and favoring climate of the West will doubtless, in a few years, 
tell powerfully on the Eastern Market. 

PRESERVING THE CROP. 

If it is the design to keep the crop for a winter market, it 
should be stored in a cool, dry place, out of danger from frost, in 
bulk if possible, but not over two feet in depth. It is a good 
plan to let them rest on a lattice -work of slats on the sides and 
bottom of the building that the air may circulate through them. 
If kept in barrels these should not be headed, and should have 
two or three openings made with a hatchet or large auger in the 
sides near the bottom. If it is designed to keep the onions till 
Spring, the cheapest and best way is to freeze them. To do this, 
select the north-west portion of some outbuilding under which 
the air docs not circulate, spread the onions about one and a half 
feet in depth, leaving a vacant space of about two feet from the 
side of the building, let them get thoroughly frozen, then cover 
them closely with an old sail, or any cloth, to keep the hay from 
mixing with them, and spread the hay two feet or more in depth 
above the covering ; also pack fine hay closely between the heap 
and the sides of the building. Here let them remain untouched 
until the frost is entirely out, when they should be spread at 
once, well aired, and turned often until thoroughly dried. 

If the onions in the fall are not well ripened, or if a larger 



28 

proportion than usual are rotten, which is apt to be the case 
after a very wet season, or when the onion maggot has given 
much trouble, to store largely for winter sales is attended with 
great risk. I have known one enterprising cultivator sink sev- 
eral thousand dollars in a single season by storing heavily 
under such circumstances. 

RUST AND THE MAGGOT. 

The Onion crop is sometimes severely injured by a disease 
resembling mildew. The tops of the leaves die and the whole 
plant is more or less covered by patches of this white blast. 
From the effects of it the onions almost cease their growth and 
the crop finally obtained is small in size. This disease in some 
sections is known by the name of "rust." It is more frequent 
in extraordinary wet seasons, and is more common on old beds 
than new. The best remedy yet known for old beds is to run 
the plough a little deeper and thus mix in a little new soil. 

The onion maggot is hatched from the eggs of a fly which are 
deposited in the plant very near the surface of the ground. Its 
presence may be detected in the crop when very young by the 
sudden turning yellow and falling over of the plant, when if the 
attempt is made to pull it, it will usually break off near the sur- 
face, and on squeezing several very small maggots will present 
themselves. Some writers state that the fly deposits its eggs only 
at an early period in the growth of the plant. It is true that 
some seasons the injury is most marked previous to the bottom- 
ing of the onion, but I have seen beds injured at every stage of 
their growth, and in one season about half of the crop was de- 
stroyed by the maggot at the close of the season after the onions 
had been pulled. Various remedies have been proposed but of 
these it may be said that they are not practical on a large scale. 
The idea on which most of these is based is that of producing a 
scent so disagreeable as to drive away the fly ; but the old ex- 
perimenters recall the capacity of the Canker-worm-moth and the 
Squash beetle to ignore the most repulsive obstructions of this 
kind when stimulated by their instinct to deposit their eggs. 
Pine sawdust, either clear, soaked in the urine of cattle, or in the 
ammoniacal liquor from gas works, scattered over the bed just be- 
fore the appearance of the plants, at the rate of a bushels to ten 
square rods ; Guano sprinkled along the rows and on the plants 
twice during the season, unleached ashes used in the same man- 
ner; these have given satisfactory results to some growers. 
Scalding water poured from a common watering pot through a 
hole the size of a pipestem, along the drills near the roots of the 



29 

plants, and repeated three or four times during a season is said 
to be efficacious. It is obvious that the practical value of such a 
remedy must be confined to a very small area of land. 

In New England the maggot has been slowly making his way 
from the north, adding greatly to the uncertainty of the crop, 
until his ravages have extended to Southern Massachusetts. 
Very light soils appear to be most affected by its ravages. In 
some seasons the injury done is insignificant, and on the whole 
the area planted in Massachusetts has not been materially 
reduced. 

It will one year confine its ravages mostly to one portion of 
a township and the next season reverse matters ; while some 
tracts are almost never injured, on others it appears to settle 
down as a permanent resident. 

RAISING ONION SEED. 

What does all this investment of money, time, labor and 
watchfulness amount to if the seed is worthless, has no vitality, 
is not true to name, or was grown from worthless trash ? Onion 
seed should be raised from the very best onions of the very best 
crop grown in the vicinity. The best type should be first se- 
lected, which should be a medium sized onion, very hard and 
compact in structure, with a close, thin, fine skin, and a very 
small neck. Those selected for seed should be the earliest rip- 
ened of the crop, provided such are fully ripened and not blighted. 
To select the earliest onions the seed grower should visit the 
field before the crop is pulled. 

Onion seed is sometimes (I fear too often) grown from the 
entire crop, be it good, bad or indifferent. A great step of im- 
provement on this is to purchase outright as good a crop as can 
be found, but the only way to secure and keep the best and 
most reliable seed is that first given. Poor onion seed is often- 
times very dear indeed, as a present, while first class seed at the 
highest price yet paid is worth a long and careful seeking. 

Seed onions should be kept in a cool, dry place, spread to 
about a foot in depth ; if kept in barrels, these should be left 
unheaded, and two or three pieces should be chopped off near 
the bottom to admit a circulation of air. As early in the Spring 
as the ground can be worked, they should be set out in trenches 
(the onion when planted in trenches will stand a heavy frost 
without injury) which should be from three to four feet apart, 
about four inches below the surface, the land having first been 
very heavily manured. Some good seed growers apply their ma- 
nure directly in the trench, while others spread it broadcast and 



30 

plough in. I prefer to plough in a liberal quantity, and then use 
ashes, Superphosphate of Lime, or Guano in the rows, applying 
it just before hoeing the crop. If the onions are much sprouted, 
the sprout may be cut off quite home to the onion, which will in- 
sure a straighter and healthier growth. Care should be taken to 
plant right end up, for odd as it sounds, in the spring it is some- 
times difficult to determine which is the right end. As soon as 
the onion is well rooted, the earth should be drawn up to it, 
and this should be done three times during the season, until the 
earth is heaped around them eight or ten inches above the sur- 
face of the ground. The first hoeing should be given them very 
soon after the sprout starts, to fully cover the onion, as when 
exposed it is very apt to decay. With this support, on land 
that is not too moist. I find that no further precaution is neces- 
sary to keep the seed tops from the ground, though it is the 
practice of many growers to support with slight strips of wood, 
or a line drawn along about two feet from the ground. After 
the last hoeing, (and very clean culture should be given then,) 
they should be gone among as little as possible. 

The seed tops may be safely cut (leaving about six inches of 
the stem on) when the seed vessels begin to crack; or what is 
a better guide yet, for after the seed vessels begin to crack 
much seed is apt to be lost, especially by heavy storms, is the 
turning yellow, near the ground, of the seed stalk ; when this 
occurs the top may be removed immediately, even though it 
should appear quite green above. 

Seed tops will be often found in which the seed in the short- 
est stemmed receptacles is ripened, and the receptacles themselves 
are cracked, while a fresh growth of seed vessels in a green 
state almost conceals them ; in such cases I would advise the 
cutting of the top. The tops thus cut should be spread to a 
depth of six inches or less, in a warm place where heat and air 
abound, and be turned two or three times daily, until thoroughly 
dried, when the seed is ready to be threshed out ; or it may 
be stored in barrels in a dry loft, and threshed as wanted. If 
the seed is plump and has been well ripened, the frequent turn- 
ing of the stalks will have shaken out by far the larger propor- 
tion of it — in some seasons more than five-sixths of it. 

As the seed stalks make but little shade, the ground between 
the rows can be profitably cultivated to Spinach, Lettuce, Rad- 
ishes, Turnips, or such early vegetables, and when these are 
harvested be planted to cucumbers for pickles. The planting 
between the rows should be confined to the middle, and in 
trenches an inch or so below the surface, unless it be made after 



31 

the onions have received their final hoeing, otherwise the draw- 
ing of the earth around the seed stalks will seriously interfere 
with these crops. 

Strange as it may sound to those who have not tried it, such 
rampant growers as squashes can be raised among seed onions 
with no material injury to the seed. I have known five tons 
of Hubbard Squashes grown on about half an acre of ground 
planted to seed onions. The squash should be planted towards 
the close of May, after the onions have received their final hil- 
ling, two or three seed being planted close to every other row, 
and about nine feet apart in the row ; allow but one plant to 
grow in a hill. The vines thus having plenty of room between 
the rows to spread about do not incline much to climbing on the 
seed stalks. Care should be exercised to break off at once the 
tendrils of such as attempt to climb. The one plant to the hill 
system will be found to yield as liberal a crop and finer 
squashes than the old system of three or four to the hill. 

The yield of onion seed to the barrel of seed onions varies 
greatly ; indeed, no investments near the seaboard prove more 
speculative. The maggot sometimes proves very destructive 
so much so, that the crop will not average half a pound to the 
barrel, when under very favoring circumstances crops have 
been raised which averaged eighteen pounds to the barrel. 

When the seed is fully dry, (and seed that has been sunk 
should have a long exposure to the air and frequent stirrings ; 
I have known large lots spoilt from want of care in this,) it 
should be so stored as to be safe from all injury from cats and 
other animals, who are apt to resort to it, to the utter destruc- 
tion of its vitality. 

RAISING CARROTS WITH ONIONS. 

The plan of raising carrots with onions is considered a great 
improvement by many who have adopted it, as the yield of carrots 
is thought to be a clear gain, diminishing but little or none the 
yield of onions. Carrots are planted in two ways ; one by sow- 
ing them in drills between every other row of onions, and the 
other, which is considered an improvement, called the Long Is- 
land plan, by planting the onions in hills from seven to eight 
inches from center to center dropping a number of seed in each 
hill, and from the first to the twelfth of June planting the 
carrot seed, usually by hand, between these hills in tAvo rows, then 
skipping one, and thus on through the piece. The onions, as 
they are pulled are thrown into every third row, the carrots being 
left to mature. By this method from two hundred to six hun- 



32 

dred bushels of carrots are raised in addition to the usual crop 
of onions. More manure is required for the two crops than for 
onions alone. 

The Machine used for sowing in drills has two boxes attached 
to the axle at equi-distance from the wheels ; there are three or 
lour holes in the axle that communicate with the seed in the 
boxes, and as these holes pass under the boxes they are filled with 
seed, and as they turn the seed are dropped into the earth. 
Screws are sunk into the holes which can be sunk more or less 
at pleasure, and the quantity of seed which the holes will con- 
tain is thus graded. 

The machine should first be tested and so regulated that on 
a barn floor it will drop from eleven to twelve seed from each 
hole. When so regulated, on using in the field it will drop but 
from seven to twelve, owing to the more uneven motion. 

This, like all sowing machines, and the same may be said of 
the scuffle hoe and wheel hoe, is pushed along before the oper- 
ator. 

My farmer friends, I have now given you the result of my own 
experience in the raising of Onions, Potato Onions, Top Onions, 
Shallots, and Onions Setts, combined with the experience in onion 
growing of a neighborhood where a hundred thousand bushels 
are raised annually, with the results of personal observation 
in other localities, and with facts that I have collected by corres- 
ponding with different sections of the United States. 

I hope this contribution will prove acceptable. 

JAMES J. H. GREGORY. 

Marblehead, Mass. 



An Agricultural Library for Five Dollars, 



GOOD BOOKS AT OLD PRICES. 



THE PAFER AND BINDING WORTH THE MONEY. 



SIX VOLUMES OF THE 



GENESEE FARMER 

Nearly Two Thousand Pages, Over Five Hundred Engravings. 



Those acquainted with THE GENESEE FARMER, will be glad to avail themselves of this 
opportunity to secure a set of the Bound Volumes at rates far less than they can now be pub- 
lished. No Farmer, Fruit Grower, or Hortieulturalist should be without a set of these Bound 
Volumes. They are invaluable for reference. There is scarcely a subject in the whole range 
of Agricultural and Horticultural practice that is not treated on. They will be worth ten times 
their cost to any farmer. 

THE GENESEE FARMER is published in one of the best wheat and fruit sections in the 
United States. It is a Monthly Journal of 32 Royal Octavo Pages, filled with carefully pre- 
pared matter of great practical value to all engaged in the cultivation of the soil. The twelve 
monthly numbers are bound together in a substantial manner, making a handsome book that is 
worth a place in any library. There is a complete Index to each volume. 

The volumes for the last six years, (1S53-1860-1S61-1802-1S63-1S64) will be sent by express 
for five dollars. 

The volume for 1864 will be sent separately by mail, prepaid, for $1.25. 

The Genesee Farmer for 1865, will be sent to any address for $1.00. 

Rural Annual 1865, 25 cts. prepaid by mail. 



THE RURAL ANNUAL AND HORTICULTURAL DIRECTORY 

Is a little work of 120 pages, published at the commencement of each year by the editor of the 
GENESEE FARMER. It was started in 1856, and a new volume, containing entirely new mat- 
ter has been published each year. The complete set of eight numbers, (lc-56, '57, '58, '59, '60 
61, '62 and 63,) handsomely bound in two volumes, will be sent to any address, prepaid, by 
mail, on receipt of $2.50. 

The six volumes of the Genesee Farmer, for the years '59, '60, '61, '62, '63 and '64,) and 
the complete set of the Rukal Annual, handsomely bound, will be sent together by express foe 
$7.00. Address, _ 

JOSEPH HARRIS, 

Publisher and Proprietor Genesee Farmer & Rural Annual. 

ROCHESTER, N". Y. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




000 916 776 6 



[Established in 184-3.] 



A G-ood, Cheap, and very Valuable Paper for Every 
Man, Woman, and Child, 

In Citj^, Village, and Country. 

THE 

AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 

FOR THE 

Farm, Garden, and Household, 

Including a Special Department of Interesting and In- 
structive Keading for CHILDEEN and YOUTH. 



The Ac/ricnlturkt is a large periodical of thirty-two quarto pages, beautifully 
printed, rilled with plain, practical, reliable, original matter, and containing hun- 
dreds of beautij id Mid instructive Engravings in every annual volume. 

It contains, each month, a Calendar of Operations to be performed on the 
Farm, in the Orchard and Garden, in and around the Dwelling, etc. 

The thousands of hints and suggestions given in ever}' volume are prepared by 
practical, intelligent working men, who know what they write about. 

The Household Department is valuable to every Housekeeper, affording 
very many useful hints and directions, calculated to lighten and facilitate in-door 
work. 

The Department for Children and Youth is prepared with special care, 
to furnish not only amusement, but also to inculcate knowledge and sound moral 
principles. 



TERMS — English Edition. The circulation of the American Agricul- 
turist (more than one hundred thousand) is so large that it can be furnished at the 
low price of #1.50 a year; four copies, one year, tor $5; ten copies, one year, for 
$12; twenty or more copies, one year, #1 each; single copies 15 cents each. 

"X^r" Thy it a Year. 

A GERMAN EDITION, containing all the principal articles and en- 
gravings of the English edition, and other matter of special interest to German 
Americans, is furnished at $2 a year; four copies, $7; six copies, $10; ten or more 
copies, $1.50 each. 

OEANGE JUDD, Publisher and Proprietor. 

No. 41 PARK ROW, NEW- YORK CITY. 



